Get all the latest Nationals news from MLB.com's Bill Ladson.

Results tagged ‘ jerry blevins ’

WASHINGTON – Although the non-waiver trade deadline has past, the Nationals are still looking to improve their bullpen. According to a baseball source, the Nationals have interest in Rangers left-hander Neal Cotts. But, so far, the Rangers don’t like what teams have been offering for Cotts.

Cotts is a pitcher who can get all hitters out. Entering Monday’s action, left-handed hitters have a .265 batting average against Cotts, while right-handed hitters are hitting .246 against the left-hander. Cotts has appeared in 52 games for Rangers this season and has a respectable 3.38 ERA.

The Nationals have been looking for a left-handed reliever since before the non-waiver trade deadline. They had interest in left-hander Andrew Miller, but the Red Sox traded him to the Orioles for left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez.

Currently, the Nationals have two lefties in their bullpen. Jerry Blevins has been hit hard since June 14. He has allowed 13 runs in 14 2/3 innings. Ross Detwiler doesn’t have the experience of being a late-inning lefty, although manager Matt Williams said recently that Detwiler will be used in important situations.

Trying to trade for a player after the non-waiver deadline is nothing new for the Nationals. On Aug. 3, 2012, the Nationals acquired catcher Kurt Suzuki from the Athletics for Minor League catcher David Freitas. At the time, the Nationals were unhappy with Jesus Flores’ game calling behind the plate.

WASHINGTON — Nationals relievers came into Friday with a 2.56 ERA that ranked first in the Majors, and after Drew Storen surrendered a leadoff double to the Braves’ Tommy La Stella in the seventh inning, the bullpen set down the next 18 in a row.

That performance set the stage for Washington to rally and send the game into extra innings, but eventually, manager Matt Williams found himself backed into a corner.

When the 13th inning rolled around, Williams already had used Storen, Craig Stammen, Rafael Soriano, Tyler Clippard and Jerry Blevins. His options at that point were to send Blevins out for a second frame, use rookie Aaron Barrett for a fourth consecutive day or turn to Ross Detwiler, who threw 45 pitches on Wednesday and has allowed 16 runs and 35 baserunners in his last 16 2/3 innings. As such, Williams admitted he felt he needed to stick with Blevins.

“You could go to Barrett four days in a row, but that’s dangerous,” Williams said.

A second inning probably wasn’t ideal for Blevins, either. The lefty had allowed a run on three hits in two-thirds of an inning on Thursday, throwing 18 pitches and taking a comebacker off his knee. He then used another 12 pitches during a 1-2-3 12th inning on Friday.

Blevins issued a leadoff walk to B.J. Upton, then gave up two consecutive hits and eventually two runs. Still, he didn’t offer any excuses.

“Everybody’s tired,” he said. “We’re in the 13th inning. Their guys have been going the whole time our guys have. Gotta step up, but I didn’t get the job done. Gave up a couple runs, didn’t get it done.”

Looking ahead, the bullpen could be in some trouble for the rest of the series if it needs to soak up significant innings. Blevins and Stammen both have worked on consecutive nights, while Clippard, Soriano and Barrett have pitched in three out of four. That leaves Storen and Detwiler as the freshest arms available, barring a roster move.

WASHINGTON — Ever since beating the Mets in 10 innings on Opening Day, extra frames have brought the Nationals nothing but pain this season.

After falling to the Braves in 13 innings on Friday, the Nats have lost their last seven contests that have required extras. That 1-7 mark (a .125 winning percentage) is the worst in the Majors, ahead of the Dodgers (3-8, .273) and Cubs (3-6, .333). Meanwhile, the rest of the teams in the National League East are a combined 19-20 in extras, so Washington’s troubles have made a significant difference in the division standings.

“I don’t know. I don’t have the answer for that,” manager Matt Williams said when asked if he had a theory. “I’d be interested to know though how many times we’ve come back to make it extra innings. … I would imagine the majority of those are come-from-behind tying-the-game situations like we had last night, and there’s something to be said for that.”

Indeed, the Nats trailed at some point during six of those seven losses, and in four of them, they were the team that knotted the score last to keep the game going. That includes Friday’s loss to Atlanta, in which Anthony Rendon hit a two-out, two-run homer off closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth, but the Braves scored two against Jerry Blevins in the 13th.

“The stats are the stats,” Williams said. “The fact is we’re 1-7. I don’t think of it that way. If in fact we’ve come back in those games and been down four runs and come back and tied it up, then I’m happy about that part of it, not that we didn’t end up winning those games. A team can simply say, ‘It’s not our day,’ and give up, but our guys don’t do that.”

Regardless, the results have been grisly once the ninth inning has passed. Here are the Nats’ stats from the 10th forward:

With the Nationals clinging to a 3-2 lead over the Dodgers in the eighth inning, starter Stephen Strasburg had put runners on first and second with one out to bring up Adrian Gonzalez, who has a .923 OPS this season, but only .631 against lefties. Nats manager Matt Williams played the matchups and brought in Blevins to face one batter for only the second time this season.

“Big spot,” Blevins said. “Stras pitched his butt off like a true ace. He came out in the eighth and tried to get out there as long as he could, and my main goal right there is to get that out for him, for the guys that fight.”

Blevins had pitched against Gonzalez six times in the past, holding him to 1-for-6 with two strikeouts. One of those matchups came in the series opener on Monday, when Blevins threw the sixth inning with a 2-0 lead. Facing Gonzalez as the potential tying run with two outs, Blevins whiffed him on four pitches, getting strike two on a sweeping curveball low and away and finishing him off and an up-and-in 89 mph two-seamer.

Blevins knew that in their second battle of the series, he’d have to make some adjustments.

“Yeah, I’m definitely aware that he’s such a well rounded hitter and he’s smart,” Blevins said. “He knows going in what I’ve got and how I got him out last time, so that factors in.”

Blevins’ goal was to try to induce a ground ball, while staying inside on Gonzalez to prevent him from extending his arms. He quickly put Gonzalez in a 1-2 hole with three sinkers, but this time, Gonzalez didn’t go down quickly. He fouled off two more sinkers, took a slider outside for a ball, fouled off another sinker and took a curveball in the dirt. That made the count 3-2 and ratcheted up the pressure on Blevins not to load the bases with a free pass.

“At that point it’s mano-a-mano,” Blevins said. “I’m going to throw what I think is the best pitch in this situation. I’m definitely going to throw him a strike…. I’m going to challenge him and make him put the ball in play.”

That’s what Blevins did, throwing Gonzalez two more up-and-in sinkers. Jammed both times, Gonzalez fouled them off, and the second one found its way into Anthony Rendon’s glove for the out.

Blevins’ job was done, and the Nats held on to win the game and the series.

The eight-year veteran now has made 18 appearances and posted a 2.93 ERA over 15 1/3 innings, allowing 12 hits, walking six, striking out 19 and stranding all nine inherited runners. Although Blevins has not been strictly a left-handed specialist throughout his career, he has completely neutralized lefties this season. They are 3-for-26 against him, with one double, two walks and 12 strikeouts, for a line of .115/.179/.154.

“He’s been great for us,” Williams said.

Now Blevins will make his return to Oakland, as the Nats open a three-game series on Friday against his former club. He played his first seven big league seasons with the A’s, from 2007-13, and won division titles the last two years there.

“We weren’t very good when I first [arrived in Oakland],” Blevins said. “They had a good Minor League system. A lot of guys came up. We played together as a team and went off from there. We believed in each other.”

VIERA, Fla. — Saturday’s Grapefruit League contest between the Nationals and Braves at Space Coast Stadium featured two teams that figure to be fighting each other for the National League East title. But after a brisk first two innings from starters Jordan Zimmermann and Julio Teheran, the game devolved into a sloppy affair that lasted three hours, 59 minutes and featured 31 runs, 37 hits, 14 walks, six errors and numerous misplays.

For what it’s worth, the Nats outlasted the Braves, 16-15. Here are some notes and observations from a long and crazy day at the ballpark:

— Zimmermann was on point, throwing 15 of his 20 pitches for strikes and getting five ground balls in six batters during two scoreless innings. As mentioned in today’s notebook, Zimmermann mixed in some nice changeups, a part of his repertoire that that he has developed very gradually in recent years.

— Bryce Harper played his first game of the spring, going four innings in left field and taking three plate appearances. He lined out sharply to first base, walked twice and stole a base.

— The Nats went 3-for-3 on steals in the third inning, with Denard Span stealing one on his own before pulling off a double steal of third and second with Harper. New manager Matt Williams wants his players to run the bases more aggressively, and they appear to be doing that in the early going.

— Most of the Nats pitchers after Zimmermann had a tough time, but veteran righty Luis Ayala — competing for one the last two bullpen spots — stopped the bleeding. He came in to protect a one-run lead with one out and the bases loaded in the eighth and induced an inning-ending double play, then pitched a scoreless ninth for the save. Ayala is a sinkerball artist who posted an excellent 59 percent groundball rate last season, mostly with Atlanta.

“He’s a guy that can have really quick innings,” Williams said. “An aggressive opposition, ball sinking down and in, a lot of ground balls. So that’s why we’re considering him and that’s why he’s here and it was a perfect situation today for him.”

— Michael Taylor, who is considered a strong defensive prospect in center field, had a rough day after entering the game in right. He made two errors on one play to allow Matt Lipka to circle the bases on a bloop hit down the line and later dropped a line drive into the right-center gap.

“We want to make sure he gets some reps out there,” Williams said. “Today’s a rough day for any right fielder, but he’ll get some more reps out there, too.”

Tomorrow: The Nats are back at Space Coast to take on the Marlins at 1:05 p.m. Doug Fister will start in his Washington debut, and fellow newcomer Jerry Blevins is scheduled to pitch as well. Jayson Werth is supposed to play for the first time this spring.

Looking ahead: Ross Detwiler will start against the Yankees on Monday in Tampa, and Stephen Strasburg will take the ball against the Braves on Tuesday in Lake Buena Vista. That would leave Gio Gonzalez as the one expected member of the rotation yet to pitch.

Worth noting: Although he called Saturday’s defensive sloppiness an “aberration,” Williams said his club will address the issue in a previously scheduled situational defense practice on Sunday.

Worth quoting: While passing a group of reporters in a hallway shortly after the game, Nats coach Mark Weidemaier, who is in charge of the club’s defense, quipped, “Coached the [heck] out of ‘em today!”

Further reading: Today’s notebook on Nationals.com also includes info on how Danny Espinosa will split his time between second base and shortstop this spring, the approach Williams wants prospect Zach Walters to take at the plate, and lefty Tyler Robertson aiming for a bullpen job.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.